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All Master's Theses Master's Theses

1967

The Development of a Series of Cast Metal Sculpture Using the Lost Wax Process

Ernest C. Reynolds Central Washington University

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Recommended Citation Reynolds, Ernest C., "The Development of a Series of Cast Metal Sculpture Using the Lost Wax Process" (1967). All Master's Theses. 746. https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/746

This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses at ScholarWorks@CWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@CWU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. . . :~ ..... ~ ,.. : THE DEVELOP:MENT OF":~''SERIES OF CAST METAL SCULPTURE USING THE LOST WAX PROCESS

A Thesis Presented to The Graduate Faculty Central Washington State College

In Partial Ful.fillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts

by Ernest C. Reynolds June 1967 i'~ ~ ·. •. > • .,_, ;,. ~· r·,

i ~' ! . f e°l 'ti'~ .£. tll.g a1

APPROVED FOR THE GRADUATE FACULTY

______Christos J. K. Papadopoulos, COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN

______Louis A. Kollmeyer

______Donald P. Tompkins

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my appreciation ror the help and encouragement given by Christos J. Papadopoulos, Dr. Louis A. Kollmeyer, and Donald P. Tompkins in the prep­ aration or this thesis. TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. INTRODUCTION • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1

The Problem. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 2

Statement of the problem • • • • • • • • • • • 2 Scope and limitation of the problem. • • • • • 2 Importance of the Study. • ••••••••••• 3 Method of Procedure. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 7 II. A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON LOST WAX CASTING • • 8

Introduction • • • • • • • • • • . . • • • • • • 8

Lost Wax Process • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 9

Materials, tools, and equipment. • • • • • • • 9

III. DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROBLEM ...... • • • • • • • 14

Construction of the Foundry. • • • • • • • • • • 14 A Sculpture Series Related to

Concepts and Philosophies. • • • • • • • • • • 15

IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS •••• • • • • • • • • • • 40

BIBLIOGRAPHY • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 42

LIST OF PLATES • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 44 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The desire for self-expression is, with some, almost as strong as the need for food, love, or warmth. This desire for selr-expression may take many forms. When manifesting itselr in the manipulation of form and material, as in the case of sculpture, self-expression alone is not enough. There is always the need to conquer new materials and tech­ niques in order to find new ways of expressing concepts and philosophies about form and the aesthetic possibilities that other media do not arford. This, then, is the situation in which I find myself. I need a material that will bend to my will, that will more readily express the depths and breadths of vital personal concepts and philosophies. Based upon several years of working and teaching in the area of art, I have been developing ideas and opinions about form, the origin of form, the function of form that now need to be organized, developed, subjected to the test of criticism, and then stated as personal concepts. For instance, I have formulated quite positive views regarding organic form as the origin of form and the inter-relation­ ship of positive form and negative form. The need to explain these views and to demonstrate them is the personal reason I am involved in the pursuit of 2 this thesis. In the following chapters I will endeavor to develop these ideas further and, through this paper and the executed works, make them clear.

I. THE PROBLEM

Statement of ~ Problem. The purpose of this pro­ blem is twofold. First, I reel impelled to make a personal statement regarding rrry philosophies about form, and secondly to explore the possibility or relating negative and positive form as a sculptural unity in bronze casting.

Scope ~ Limitation E£_ ~ Problem. The problem consists or producing a series or sculptures demonstrating a personal philosophy regarding rorm in general and negative form and positive rorm, specifically, as they relate to aes­ thetic expression. These pieces are primarily in the lost wax (cire perdue) process, cast in nonferrous metals. Two additional pieces, one each in stone and in direct plaster, will be carried out. Initially, it is planned to complete two pieces by the lost wax process that demonstrate the con­ ventional interpretation or rorm both for the purpose or contrast and ror the purpose or clarifying some or the pro­ blems and techniques or hollow cast sculpture using the lost wax process. 3 II. IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

I have already mentioned a desire for selr-expression, the need to develop new concepts, philosophies, and ideas, and to express these new mental-emotional developments in a tangible and concrete way. These mental, emotional, and spiritual developments are the growth that gives living to lire and importance to the development and execution of this problem. It is important at this time to explain something of the concepts or ideas that I have been developing these past few years. In the process of living and growing one is con­ tinually, though sometimes unconsciously, exposed to the existence and happenings of the world around him. As long as I can remember I have always worked with form in a sculptural manner. Most of that time, what I did with form was perhaps instinctive but more positively the direct result of instruc­ tions I had received about sculptural form. Form was a three dimensional solid that could be manipulated but to me it was still just a three dimensional solid as a house, a brick or an animal. My first attempts to ponder form in order to find in it more meaning, more reality, more universality, was to consider what, specifically, was the origin of form. Just as motion, heat, light, and growth have their foundation in energy, so too, I reasoned, there nmst be some fundamental source of form. 4 I was exposed to the concept that ":form :follows :func- tion," an idea that originated early in this century at the Bauhaus in Germany. The idea seemed well suited to architec­ ture and industrial design. But there were those who :felt the concept could be adapted to the :fine arts. I can still remember being urged to consider the :function when I was dealing with :form. The results were :rar :from satis:factory and always quite mechanical. In order to resolve this situ­ ation I began what might be called an "education through observation." I began to look more closely at the world around me and :round innumerable relationships in :form I had never be:f ore noticed. Forms I had thought peculiar to the animal world I :round continually repeated in the plant world. Large geological :rorm.ations as well as microscopic geologi- cal structures I :round repeated in dri:rt wood, water pat­ terns, and cloud :formations. Everywhere I :round nature repeating itsel:r over and over again. I am not speaking here o:r the novelty dri:rtwood pieces that look "like" a duck or deer or something else, or the wood grain patterns, or cloud patterns in which one can see a :race or a ship. I am speaking o:r the more basic :forms out o:r which bigger things are made. An example might be the whorled grain o:r a burl which is seen again in the growing tips o:r :ferns, the spiraling pattern o:r specular hematite, or in an eddy o:r water. The :rorm. a growing plant takes at the point where a stem 5 grows out of a twig, a twig out of a limb, a limb out of the trunk may be seen where a finger grows out of a hand or an arm out of a shoulder. The examples are countless but these few should indicate the type of relationships of form to which I refer. Forms that are "inherent in the basic character or structure" (10:1590) of the world around us, it would seem, are organic in nature and therefore must certainly be the point of departure in the creation of form. For me, then, the origin of all form can be found in organic form--those forms found in nature in animal, vegetable and mineral sub­ stances. In addition to my thinking on "organic form," I have been more recently concerned with the concept of the rela­ tionship of negative form to positive form. In the past, all sculpture of a traditional nature, whether carved in wood or stone or cast in bronze, has been treated as solid form or an assemblage of forms that may or may not have openings between the forms or parts of the form. Form has been treated as an inpenetrable mass without an inside. The solid portions were considered to be positive form while the spaces in between were called negative form. Because of the nature of the material, this is perhaps as it should be when working stone and wood. However, when one is making a mold, the inside of the mold, that surface which is next to the 6 positive rorm or the model, has traditionally been rererred to as the "negative." It is an exact reversal or the posi­ tive rorm. By the same token, in photography the negative is the direct opposite or the positive. As I considered these racts I began to wonder ir it was possible to create another dimension in sculpture and a new meaning ror nega­ tive rorm. Could one emphasize in a piece or sculpture the positive or outside rorm and at the same time consider the inside or that positive rorm? This would seem to be possible. The negative rorm is more than just the spaces lert between positive rorms, i.e. the openings between the arms and the body or the legs and the body or a rigure. Negative rorm must have a more simple and direct relationship with positive rorm. The nature or cast metals and also hollow rormed cera­ mics should be considered in order to achieve the greatest aesthetic and sculptural possibilities. One wonders what he would see rrom the inside or a hollow cast bronze or ceramic sculpture. If' the inside or a piece or sculpture could be seen rrom the outside would the piece be as aesthetically satisrying with this negative rorm related to the existing positive rorms as the positive rorm is by itselr? Is it pos­ sible, then, to treat the sculpture originally so that this relationship can exist ror the viewer? 7 These are some of the ideas and questions that have prompted the undertaking of this problem. In other words, the answers and conclusions are the importance of the study.

III. METHOD OF PROCEDURE

The following chapter will review the literature on casting processes and techniques. Using the information thus gained, the ideas about the philosophy of form will be employed. Two pieces of work will be produced that inter­ pret form in the traditional manner for the sake of contrast. Six pieces will be executed in bronze that incorporate the ideas of negative-positive form relationships. One marble carving, and one direct plaster construction will explore this philosophy further. All finished work will be photographed and included in the body of the thesis. CHAPTER II

A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON LOST WAX CASTING

I. INTRODUCTION

In order to produce a series of sculpture to express the writer's concepts and philosophies regarding the use of form in hollow cast sculpture, it was necessary to obtain information concerning the processes and techniques used in the casting of sculpture into metal. For this reason a sur­ vey was made of the literature on bronze casting. A lack of printed material on the subject of bronze casting was dis­ covered. Material exists on highly technical and complicated processes employing expensive automatic machinery that are used in industry, but this was unsuitable for the present purposes. Pertinent material has been written mainly by artists who were also unable to find casting facilities and information. For economic and physical reasons they were forced to obtain their knowledge from imperfect sources and trial and error methods. A number of these people were kind enough to record their findings in essays and articles pre­ pared for various art publications. Of particular value are the writings of Eldon Tefft, University of Kansas, and Mr. Tefft's film, Bronze Casting 2£. Sculpture (1:10-17). Many of these authors have acknowledged the urgency of learn­ ing the art of metal casting for the reasons cited above. 9 In his article on the sculpture show at the Museum of Con­ temporary Crarts in New York, Mr. Lawrence Campbell says of Eldon Tefft, "Among the first to realize that the crart of metal casting was about to vanish from the American scene ••• , he set about obtaining firsthand technical ini'or.ma.tion about foundry practices in Europe and Mexico." (1:10-17) Each account of a particular process was unique in that it was the artist's adaptation of the basic process as applied to his own personal needs and circumstances. In a later chapter the tools, materials and techniques that were used in this thesis will be discussed.

II. LOST WAX PROCESS

The lost wax process is an inexpensive and uncompli­ cated technique. Though there are variations of the process, it is basically one of producing a model in wax which is then invested or contained in some refractory material. The investment is then heated, burning the wax out--hence the name of the process. In the cavity that remains, bronze or other non-ferrous metal is poured. When cooled, the piece is removed from the investment and cleaned, trinrrned, chased and patined.

Materials, Tools, ~ Equipment. Many sculptors choose the lost wax process because of its simplicity. 10 Frank Eliscu pre.fers this method because the wax is clean and can be carried in his pocket so he can work on ideas wherever he is (7). David Slivka cites the .freedom that wax gives him in expressing himsel.f (5) and Lipchitz the versa­ tility and ease o.f its use when working, reworking, and repairing his wax models (3). The lost wax process, .from model to bronze, requires basically only three materials. Wax is the primary ingre­ dient. Most generally beeswax, compounds o.f beeswax, or syn­ thetic substitutes such as Microcrystalline wax is used because o.f its plasticity, ease o.f handling, and because it is clean. Microcrystalline wax can be made as plastic as modeling clay by the addition o.f a small quantity o.f vase­ line (4:49). A second necessary material is some .form o.f investment. An investment serves as a mold .for the casting a.fter the wax model is burned out. It must adequately resist the pouring temperatures o.f bronze (1900-2000° F.) or what­ ever non-.ferrous metal is being cast. It must also be mod­ erately strong to withstand the pressures o.f casting and must be permiable enough to allow gasses generated by the heat o.f the metal and combustion o.f residues to escape through the investment. Though there are many .formulas .for the investment, the .following is a general summary with an indication o.f some o.f the variations. The investment material consists o.f 11 plaster and other rerractory materials. Any type or plaster that is available will do--such as rast setting guaging plas­ ter, molding plaster, casting plaster, dental plaster, or orthopedic plaster. Though each has varying characteristics, these di:f'rerences will be mostly those or setting time and hardness. The rerractory material in the investment may be a coarse grog, silica rlour, brick dust which is essentially a grog, or asbestos rlour. The choice or rerractory mater­ ials will depend on the type or casting and within this requirement the casters' personal prererences. All the mat­ erials mentioned will have nearly the same rerractory quali­ ties but will vary the strength and porosity or the investment. Asbestos will produce an investment that will take a riner impression but will make a sort and thererore weak mold and also, the use or asbestos will make the mold more dense and thererore less porous. For simple casting or low tempera- ture metals such as lead, britannia metal, or pewter, asbestos is a very satisractory material and easy to use. Grog and silica rlour will make a harder and thererore stronger invest­ ment. An alternate type or investment is the rired clay mold. This is the type or investment that Benvenuto Cellini speaks or in his autobiography. " ••• , I clothed my Perseus with clay ••• " (9:383). The wax model is coated with several layers or clay slurry. The clay is rired and the wax burned out. 12 A third material ror the casting process is the metal that will be cast. Though bronze, or more specif'ically, steam bronze is thought or when one speaks or the lost wax. process or the casting or sculpture in general, bronze is by no means the only metal that can be used. Other non-rerrous metals that can be used besides steam bronze are silicon bronze, magnesium bronze, aluminum bronze, aluminum, or any metal or high copper content. Gold and silver are used ror the casting or smaller items. Another reason ror the choice or the lost wax. process by many sculptors and artist crartsmen is the ract that the tools and equipment needed are simple and inexpensive. All or the tools and most or the equipment can be made by the rounder. The tools that are needed are a variety or steel spatulas, modeling and carving tools, and some rine riles and rif'rlers ror rerining surrace details. The spatulas, modeling, and carving tools are easy to make. They can be rorged out or a large nail, piece or welding rod, or heavy wire with a wooden handle added ir desired. The working end or surrace or the tool must be carerully worked and polished as any imperrection in the tool will be transrerred to the wax.. The equipment needed will be a kiln ror burning out the wax., a rurnace ror melting the metal and appropriate tools ror handling the molten metal. Ir the studio is equipped with a ceramic kiln or sufricient size, this can be 13 used for the burnout phase. Ii' a kiln of large enough size is not available, a temporary beehive kiln can be constructed or an inverted oil drum used which is fired with oil [wood, natural or artiricial gas, or kerosene] with an old vacuum cleaner for forced draft (4:46). Eldon Tefft also reco:nnnends an easily constructed and inexpensive burnout furnace (6:27-29). The furnace and crucible will be the most expensive items needed for the operation. The cost of these items can run approximately $20.00 for a homemade furnace (6:49) to more than a hundred dollars for a connnercially built foundry fUr­ nace (4:46) large enough to hold a #20 crucible. The crucible will cost $8-10. The foundry tools necessary may either be purchased or made. These tools will include a two-man pour­ ing shank, tongs to lift the crucible from the furnace, a skinnner, crucible hook, crucible rod, ingot molds for the excess metal, and several pair of asbestos gloves. The total cost of a simple foundry which includes the burnout kiln, melt or foundry furnace, crucible, and tools to handle the crucible can cost from $53.54 (6:48-49) to $750.00 (4:46). In summary, the available literature on casting is either highly technical or oriented to industrial processes or is rather inadequate for purposes of sculpture casting. However, some of the information gathered from the review of literature was utilized in the development of this study. CHAPTER III

DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROBLEM

I. CONSTRUCTION OF THE FOUNDRY

The entire foundry as described and all of its equip­ ment was designed by Christos J. Papadopoulos under whose direction I did the work for my thesis. The burnout kiln was designed to be flexible in order to accommodate, within limits, any number of pieces of vary­ ing size. Four to seven investments at a time ranging in size from twelve inches in diameter by fifteen inches high to as large as twenty four inches in diameter by thirty six inches high have been handled in this kiln at one time. The kiln has, as its only permanent structure, a stage of brick four by five feet. It is constructed of one layer of perforated building brick (for ventilation) and one layer of fire brick (for insulation). The top layer is banded together with angle iron straps. The entire structure is layed on a con­ crete floor. The kiln proper is errected each time of com­ mon fire brick to the dimensions needed and roofed over with fourteen by sixteen inch refractory slabs (kiln shelves) sup­ ported from the inside. On top of the kiln a two inch layer of vermiculite serves as insulation. The entire structure is vented with a five foot hood. This kiln is designed to main­ tain a nearly even 1000° F. temperature. l.5 The roundry rurnace is constructed rrom a rii'ty two gallon stubby hot water tank. This steel tank is lined with rour inches or high rerractory brick on the bottom and rour and one-quarter inches or rerractory arch brick on the sides. A cantilever device was made to lirt the silicon carbide lid and swing it open. The lid and the crucible are the only ready-made equipment purchased. A nozzle and burner ror pro­ pane gas was built and ritted with a centrii'ugal blower. The tongs to lirt the crucible rrom the rurnace are made rrom one inch hexagonal pneumatic drill sections with the pads made rrom three-eighths inch sheet steel. They are this heavy in order that up to one hundred rii'ty pounds or metal can be handled. The pouring shank is also made rrom one inch hexagonal stock with the cradle made rrom a section or nine inch pipe with a tilt pad made or three-eighths inch rlat bar. All portions or the cradle and tilt pad are rorged and cut to rit the contours or the crucible used. Skimmers and crucible hooks are made rrom available steel rod and r1at bar.

II. A SCULPTURE SERIES RELATED TO CONCEPTS AND PHILOSOPHIES

While assisting with the construction or the roundry I began to develop sketches that might later help to explain my ideas. Though I am dealing with two distinct concepts regarding rorm, i.e., "organic rorm is the origin or all rorm" 16 and "negative f'orm (as I interpret it) and positive f'orm treated as a sculptural unity," major emphasis will be placed on the latter. Organic f'orm has been discussed, since it is always present in my work, and in this problem will certainly be a major inf'luence in my treatment of' f'orm. The relation­ ship of' negative f'orm to positive f'orm in light of' the inter­ pretation I make of' negative f'orm is a new departure f'or me. This, then, is the unknown quality upon which the major emphasis will be concentrated. First, a series of' three-dimensional sketches in plas­ toline was made, trying to work out these ideas about nega­ tive and positive f'orm. Some sketches, I thought, might have possibilities if' they could be translated into wax. A f'ew sketches had possibilities only f'or what I consider a tradi­ tional use of' f'orm. Since hollow casting was a new experi­ ence I decided to get the "f'eel" of' the material bef'ore pro­ ceeding. Two of' the sketches were chosen and treated in the traditional manner (as purely solid f'orm). The f'irst piece was of' a seated f'igure (Plate I). The f'igure was modeled in plastoline and about nine inches high. The treatment of' the anatomy demonstrates the organic f'orm discussed previously. When the model was f'inished it was divided with shims and a piece mold taken. Because of' the simplicity of' the f'igure only f'ive pieces were needed. The mold was removed and cleaned in preparation f'or making a wax 17

Plate I. Bronze, 9 11 high. 18 model. Next Microcrystalline wax was melted at 190° F. While the wax was melting the pieces of the mold were soaked in water so the wax would not stick to the plaster. When all was ready the wax was applied with a paint brush to the nega­ tive surfaces of the mold until the wax model was about three-sixteenths inch thick. The wax was trimmed on the part­ ing line, or shim line, and removed from the mold by innners­ ing both in cold water. The wax pieces were then joined by welding the pieces together with a hot steel tool. Af'ter welding, the joints were trinnned and any remodeling done that was needed. The piece was now ready for sprueing and invest­ ing. The sprueing system, that device which allows for the entrance and guidance of the molten metal into the piece, is made from wax rod. With the piece inverted, the sprues were attached at strategic locations to allow for the most uniform distribution of the metal into the piece (Plate II). Any portions of the figure that might trap air were vented by attaching a small wax rod to the highest spot of that area. The other end of the rod was then attached to some adjacent part of the figure or, if the vents were in the base, they were run out the top of the investment. A wax cup was attached to the top of the sprues which extended out of the investment allowing a reservoir into which the metal was poured. Nails were then inserted through the wax in various places to anchor the core to the investment. 19

Plate II. Bronze with sprueing system attached. 20 The next step was investing the piece. A cylindrical rorm was rashioned out or linoleum (or sheet metal) rour inches larger in diameter than the rigure which served as a dam or outer mold ror the investment. This was lined with chicken wire as reinforcement ror the investment. The invest­ ment used was ludo (investment rrom a previous casting which is crushed and ground), plaster, silica r1our, and rine grog. The proportions vary according to the condition or the ludo, rrom six to seven parts or ludo, one to one and one-halr parts plaster, one to one and one-halr parts silica rlour, and one­ quarter to one-halr parts rine grog. Fire clay may be added to give a riner surrace and greater rerractory qualities. The above mixture was added to water until there was no more rree standing water. After a minimum or stirring the invest­ ment was poured into the dam and the sprued rigure immersed until the investment rlowed into the core or the rigure and the bottom or the sprues were two inches rrom the bottom or the investment. More investment was added until only the vents and the edge or the wax cup were standing rree. If' the conformation or the piece had been such that the invest­ ment would not rlow into all areas or the core, it would have been poured rirst and then the cored piece put into the investment. When the investment was surriciently set (so that it could be handled without crushing) the dam was removed and the investment stacked upside down in the kiln to be rired (Plate III). 21

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Cl) .µ aS r-1 p.. 22 After the kiln was stacked the pilot lights were ignited and lert on ror about twelve hours. This was done to drive orr as :much moisture as possible at a slow rate berore the heat was gradually raised. Then the main burners were ignited but kept at minimum rlow until the kiln reached a temperature or 600-800° F. (8-10 hours). Then the rire was increased to raise the temperature to 1000° F. and held ror about 36 hours depending on the sizes or the pieces. When the kiln was turned orr the vermiculite was removed rrom the top to aid in raster cooling. After 8 hours the kiln was taken down. The pieces were allowed to cool slowly ror about 3 more hours. In the meantime rinal preparations were made ror the melt and ror pouring. All equipment should be out and ready ror pouring and the metal to be melted cleaned and weighed. All waste metal to be used should be wire brushed, acid cleaned and rinsed in scalding water. Cleaning the metal reduces impurities in the melt. Next the crucible was loaded and placed in the rurnace. After the rurnace was ignited, about one to one and one-halr hours remained in which to rinish all other preparations. A one to two inch layer or dry or damp sand was spread on the entire roundry rloor to prevent contact or spilled metal with a cold rloor. Suitable containers (such as garbage cans) were set up in the pouring area in which the investments 23 were packed ror prevention or leaks. The bottom or the cans were rilled to a depth that would allow the investments to set level with, or slightly above, the top or the container. Next the investments were lirted orr the kiln stage and the tops and pouring cups cleared or all rragments. They were then set right side up and the tops sealed with newspaper to keep out roreign matter. The paper was removed prior to pour­ ing. The investments were then placed in the cans and packed around the sides with sand until the containers were rilled. When the melt was completed, the crucible or molten metal was removed with tongs and placed inside the cradle or the pouring shank (Plate IV). The surrace was skimmed and when the metal reached the pouring temperature (1950° F.) rlux was added. (For bronze Phos-Cop, a Phosphorous-Copper alloy.) Next two operators lirted the crucible in the pour­ ing shank and poured each investment in succession until the cups were rull. While these operators were pouring, a third person kept the slag away rrom the lip or the crucible with a ski:mrner. After the investments were poured they were allowed to cool at least an hour berore handling. When cool, the pieces were removed to a clean rloor area, the chicken wire removed and as much or the investment taken orr as possible without touching the bronze. It was still exceedingly hot and very rragil. Hot bronze may rracture ir jarred or struck. 24

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(]) +:> Cd .-; p... 25 .Af'ter the piece was uncovered it was care£ully li£ted and i:mmersed in cold water. This anneals the bronze and causes most 0£ the remaining investment to come 0££. The £inal steps were the cleanup 0£ the bronze, the removal 0£ sprues and £lashings, the £illing 0£ any shrinkage or nail holes that resulted £rom the core anchors, chasing, and patining. The mechanical aspects 0£ casting the £irst piece were explained in detail. Such phases as the sprueing, investing, burnout, and casting processes were nearly iden­ tical in the succeeding pieces. There£ore, when discussing subsequent works these phases will be omitted except in the case 0£ exceptions or deviations. The second piece (Plate V) is a £igure group. The objective was to express the gesture 0£ three dancing £ig­ ures using simple organic £orms. For this reason the anatomy 0£ the £igures is subdued so that it blends with the sur£ace texture. The composition was modeled in plastoline £rom which a mold was taken. Though a simple composition, the arrangement 0£ the £igures made it necessary to pull a ten piece mold. All subsequent procedures were as previously described. While working on the £irst two bronzes, the decision was made to try the ideas regarding negative and positive £orm in a piece 0£ stone (Plate VI). Be£ore starting, it was 26

Plate v. Bronze, 16" tall. 27

Plate VI. Marble, 9~- " high. 28 thought that the concept of negative form as being the inside of a positive form {seen through an opening in this positive form) could not be completely implemented. The material was too fragile to be worked so thinly. In retrospect, the mater­ ial could probably have been more delicately handled than it actually was. The sculpture is a simplified head form {a basic egg shape). The face area was developed into a nega­ tive form that goes completely through the head and blends in the back to indicate the contour of the base of the skull. Because the negative form that penetrates the positive form does not reflect the character of the positive form but rather opposes it, the composition does not successfully demonstrate the negative form intended. The piece is, how­ ever, successful in other respects. It was felt that some idea of the character and potential of wax had been realized. In order to accomplish these goals, it was decided to work with sheet wax. With the wax cast into thin sheets about one-eighth inch thick, any form created in the positive would automatically have its own negative aspect. The problem then, would be to create positive forms that would not only relate aesthetically to each other but, when arranged with strategic openings, would expose the negative forms aesthetically as well. A number of attempts were made in this direction but the results were too mechanical or architectural and seemed to 29 be more directly related to fabricated sheet metal. From these results it was concluded it would be necessary to be more forceful in manipulating the wax in order to achieve the desired results. With this more vigorous handling, it was found the wax was surprisingly plastic. The next piece developed had a positive form within a positive form. The outer form developed out of and enclosed the inner form (Plate VII). As these forms developed, two cylindrical elements were introduced, each penetrating both the outer and inner forms. One of these cylinders ultimately became the base and the other served as a means of carrying the eye into the piece. Smaller elements were used on the negative side of the exterior form that were intended to hold the eye. Plates VIII and IX demonstrate the next direction taken. In both cases the sculpture is non-objective in nat­ ure and the negative forms read as negative form alone. That is, no other forms were added to the negative side, no extraneous elements to direct the eye or to hold it. The forms were kept simple with as few openings as possible. In Plate IX some of the negative areas were accentuated by increasing the modeling of the surfaces. Other than this modeling, the negative forms read directly as the insides of the positive forms. 30

Plate VII. Bronze, 9~ 11 high. 31

. H H H !>

Q) .µ ClS rl p.., 32

Plate IX. Bronze, 15! " tall. 33 The sculpture in Plate X is an expansion of the con- cept in Plate VII. In this case four positive forms were used, each open in such a way that the negative aspect could be seen. Two of the small spherical forms were placed inside of the larger one to allow the eye to enter and pass through. A cylinder penetrates the large form and becomes the base. The entire composition is framed with an element designed to accentuate the circular and spherical aspect. At this point it seemed that not enough control was being exerted over the wax sheet. It was felt that, though the expression of the desired relationship of negative to positive form was progressing, the resulting compositions continued to resemble fabricated sheet metal. The next piece pushed the manipulation of sheet wax to a new extreme. In this piece {Plate XI) negative form was not an issue. The last bronze casting (Plate XII) is to some extent a restatement of the first bronze (Plate I). In this figure, however, stating the philosophy that negative form is the inside of positive form and that it can be used aesthetically as a sculptural unity with positive form was more fully realized. In this piece, as in the first, the seated figure was used with a simple treatment of the anatomy. Here, though, the similarity ends. The form has been opened on contours of the anatomy. No attempt has been made to treat the negative form other than as the negative of a positive form. 34

11 11 Plate X. Bronze, 10 x 13 • 35

Plate XI. Bronze, 16 11 tall. 36

Plate XII. Bronze, 12 ~- 11 high . 37 As a final effort, it was planned to test these con- cepts in some material other than wax. The most desirable material seemed to be plaster of Paris. An advantage of this material is its direct application. The piece was exe­ cuted on a large scale--approximately five feet high. A piece of this size needed an armature of steel. This was constructed of one inch pipe and covered with one-quarter inch mesh hardware cloth and acted as the foundation for the plaster of Paris. After this armature was made, direct plaster was added in layers until the piece was completed. This work (Plate XIII) employs the same concepts of negative-positive relationships as in Plate XII. Because of the inherent weaknesses of the material it was necessary to work thicker. For this reason it was not possible to achieve exactly the same effect as in bronze, i.e. the negative form being dir­ ectly related as the inside of the positive form. These forms were therefore given their own character which is aes­ thetically compatable with and directly related to the posi­ tive forms. The form is organic in nature with a surface texture, the result of the direct plaster method. 38

Plate XIII. Direct plaster, 5' fall. 39

Plate XIV. Bronze, 5" high. CHAPTER IV

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

This problem was undertaken to state a philosophy on form. and to explore the possibility of relating negative and positive form as a sculptural unity in bronze casting. The problem afforded an opportunity to explore certain concepts and philosophies regarding form and the inter-relationship of negative and positive form in bronze sculpture. Because the desired negative-positive relationships were not completely realized, further exploration with this approach is recommended. The use of negative-positive relationships in compositions based on the human figure needs more study. The opening up of the figure in order to display the negative aspect of the positive forms presented more difficulties than when working in non-objective compo­ sitions. It is also recommended that further exploration with this concept be made on a larger scale. BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. PERIODICALS

1. Campbell, L. "Creative Casting At the New York Museum of Contemporary Crafts, 11 Craft Horizons, 23:10-17+, November, 1963. Indicates trends in modern sculpture and gives sources of additional information on bronze casting. 2. Kramer, s. "Lost Wax Casting Technique," Design Quar­ terly, no. 48-49: 54-5, 1960. 3. Monroe, E. C. "Sculptor in the Foundry--Lipchitz at Work," Art News, 56:28-30+, March, 1957. An excel!eiit, step by step commentary on the lost wax process as done by Lipchitz. 4. Russin, Robert L. "A University Bronze Foundry," Ameri­ can Artist, 27:46-51+, December, 1963. ~Seventeen photographs of step by step process from clay model to finished bronze. 5. Slivka, David. "Lost Wax Regained, 11 Art News, 61:36-9+, March, 1962. 6. Tefft, Eldon. "Workshop: The Prirna.tive Foundry," Craft Horizons, 27:26-31, April, 1965. Inforination on materials, equipment, and tools for a simple foundry setup. Includes a materials and cost list for these tools and equipment. Has eleven photographs and diagrams of construction and operation of the foundry.

B. BOOKS

7. Eliscu, Frank. SculBture: Techniques in Cla~, Wax, Slate, Philadelp ia, Chilton Co., l

10. Webster's Third New International Dictionahl or the ~ng­ lish Language, Unabridged, Editor in Ch e"f"; Philip Babcock Grove, Ph.D., Springrield, Massachusetts, G. and C. Merriam Co., 1966. LIST OF PLATES

PLATE PAGE I. Seated .figure, bronze, 9 11 high. . • • • • • • 17

II. Figure with sprueing system; a.fter casting •• • • 19 III. The kiln under construction with stacked investments • • . • • •• ...... 21 IV. The .foundry in operation; pouring • ...... 24 V. Three dancing figures, bronze, 16" tall • • • . • 26

VI. Head form, marble, 9-~" high • • • • • • • 27 VII. Composition, bronze, 9~- 11 high . . . . 30 VIII. Composition, bronze, 9" x 13-~-" .• 31 IX. Free .form, bronze, 15~-" tall. • • ...... 32 x. Mask, bronze, 1011 x 13" ••• . . . . 34 XI. Walking man, bronze, 1611 tall •• ...... 35 XII. Seated .figure, bronze, 12!" high •• . . . 36 XIII. Man, direct plaster, 5' tall. • •• 38 XIV. Sketch, bronze, 5" high ...... 39